The first official meeting of the “One Nation, One Election” Committee took place on Saturday in New Delhi. It was led by former President Ram Nath Kovind. During the meeting, the members agreed to talk about the issue and get ideas from the stakeholders and political groups.
The first meeting was held at the Jodhpur Hostel in this city. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Ghulam Nabi Azad, a committee member and former leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, were all there.
At this much-anticipated meeting on Saturday, it was decided to talk with the major groups about the idea of “one nation, one election.”
The source said that the committee members also decided that if any of the political groups wanted to ask for a meeting with the committee, they would be able to give their ideas.
The person also said that the committee members talked about getting the ideas and views of the Election Commission of India and other bodies.
The source also said that during the meeting, the members mostly talked about how the group will work and what problems need to be talked about with everyone to reach an agreement on the idea of “one nation, one election.”
The source said that the group also talked about how it needs to look at different scenarios for the parallel polls and make suggestions for how to handle things like a tied vote or a vote of no-confidence.
The meeting is happening because the Narendra Modi-led BJP government put together a group lead by former president Kovind.
In addition to Kovind, Azad, and Shah, the eight-person panel includes Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N.K. Singh, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha Subhash Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
But Chowdhury turned down an offer to be part of the eight-person group set up by the Union government to look into the “One nation, one election” idea.
The government notice says that the group will look into whether or not it is possible to hold Lok Sabha and assembly elections at the same time, as well as polls for towns and panchayats.
If there is a tie in the House of Representatives, a no-confidence vote, a departure, or any other event, the committee will look at possible options related to joint elections and make recommendations.
In the notice, the government said it would look into making a single voter list and ID card for national, state, local, and village elections.
The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have talked many times about the need for “One Nation, One Election.”
